Wang Yi, former vice president of China Development Bank

BEIJING, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- A senior banker of the state-run China Development Bank has been sacked for taking bribes, the Communist Party of China's disciplinary watchdog said Wednesday.

Wang Yi, vice president of the bank, was removed from his official post and stripped of his CPC membership for "severe violation of disciplines and the law," said the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the ruling party's internal anti-graft body.

Investigations showed that Wang had abused his office to make profits for others and accepted large amounts of money in return, the commission said, without detailing the sums involved.

He was also found to have taken advantage of his post to make profits for his relatives' businesses, the CPC said.

Wang has been referred to prosecutors and could face criminal charges. The money he made from illegal dealings has been confiscated, the CPC said.

China Development Bank was established in 1994 as a policy bank with the primary purpose of financing government projects. It is under the direct leadership of the State Council (Cabinet).

According to an earlier report by Beijing-based business magazine Caijing, Wang was suspected of accepting bribes of more than 10 million yuan (1.5 million U.S. dollars) and officially arrested on Jan. 22 after being put under more than seven months of "shuang gui" -- a practice by the discipline commission in which senior officials suspected of corruption are sequestered at an undisclosed location for a set time period to encourage a confession.

Wang, 53, previously served as a vice chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, China's stock market watchdog.

From southwest China's Yunnan Province, he was said to be an amateur musician and one of his works has been adapted stage show with more than 50 runs.